governor chris christie is making a personal plea for federal disaster aid in the wake of hurricane sandy. the republican governor paid an unannounced visit to the white house to ask the president for $83 billion in aid for new jersey, new york and connecticut. he also met with members of congress. it was their first meeting since touring new jersey disaster areas in late october. >>> tea party leader and some say gop king-maker, senator jim demint of south carolina, is stepping down from congress, this happening on january 1st. demint will become head of the heritage foundation. that's a conservative think tank with an $80 million-a-year budget. demint is just two years into a second six-year term, and south carolina governor nikki haley will appoint his successor. >>> so, 2012 was officially the most expensive election in american political history. the final reports show that spending on the campaign broke the $2 billion landmark and milestone in its final weeks, helping set the record. las vegas casino mogul sheldon adelson and his wife poured more than $95 million into super politica